Sabrina Squire To Leave 12 - 4/24 - Sabrina Squire will retire from the Richmond media scene after 40 years. The Channel 12/WWBT reporter started her career as a receptionist and then became the first female announcer for WEZS. That was followed by a stint as a reporter for WSSV and the voice of news for Magic 99. She's spent the past 37 years at Richmond's NBC affiliate, WWBT. More at nbc12.com.....

Centennial In Fredericksburg Starts 6 Podcasts - 2/27 - Centennial Broadcasting in Fredericksburg has launched six podcasts from personalities on hot adult contemporary WBQB, 101.5, and news talk WFVA, 1230. They include "The OUTcast" which will highlight topics of social injustice, "The Impossible Job" about parenting, "All Business With Ted Schubel," and "The Afta' Afta' Show" with B101.5 morning show personality Dee Daniels and entertainment guru Seanzilla on the biggest entertainment news stories of the week. Plus, "Town Talk With Ted Schubel" on local news and politics and "Sunday Mornings With Dee Daniels." Says Chuck Archer, operations manager of WBQB and WFVA, "The Channel B Network of podcasts reflects the diversity of our hosts and their personal interests. On many of our podcasts, important conversation is happening that directly impacts our community. Some of it is controversial, some of it is just plain fun. We hope listeners will find a podcast or two that appeal directly to them." Listeners can subscribe to the Channel B podcasts via iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Music, or listen at b101.5.com, keyword "podcasts".....

Mark Holmberg Retires - 2/15 - Mark Holmberg is retiring after 30-plus years of Richmond area journalism. Over the years, he's worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Channel 6/WTVR. More at wtvr.com.....

Commonwealth Expands Richmond Public Radio With NOVA TV Money - 2/15 - Last year, Richmond-based Commonwealth Public Broadcasting scored $182 million by turning in the licenses of two Northern Virginia TV outlets its owns - WNVC and WNVT (which carry the MHZ relays of foreign channels) - in the FCC's so-called spectrum auction to free up more space for other uses, like cell phones. And starting today, Commonwealth will take over a two Richmond commercial radio stations it recently bought with $1.95 million of that cash. Initially, NPR affiliated news/talk/classical/jazz WCVE, 89.9, will be heard on two signals just purchased from Alpha - country WWLB 99.3 and classic hits WBBT 107.3. Coming in June, Commonwealth will make WCVE purely news/talk and put the classical/jazz programming on the two other signals. More at radioinsight.com.....

Winchester's 104.9 Goes News Talk - 2/1 - Centennial has pulled the plug on its Apple Country classic country format on 104.9, WZFC, in the Winchester area for a simulcast of news talker WINC-AM, 1400. The Apple Country format remains on 105.5, WXBN.....

WKJS Tops Richmond - 1/9 - The latest batch of Richmond radio ratings from Tom Taylor Now: This is 11 consecutive #1 books for Radio One’s urban AC “Kiss” WKJS/WKJM – and it’s a walkover (9.9-8.6-11.0). Here’s ratings-tracker Chris Huff - “The 11.0 topline share is the largest for Kiss in seven years, since Fall 2010.” Three months ago we said things were getting tight between Kiss and Richmond’s #2 station, but that’s no longer true. New #2 is SummitMedia’s country “K95” WKHK (5.6-7.0-6.7). Third now is Entercom’s hip-hop “Beat” WBTJ (6.4-8.1-6.4). Remember that Richmond is one of the “swap markets” between iHeart and Entercom, which is how Entercom entered Richmond. It also has fourth-place AC “Mix” WTVR (4.5-4.2-6.2). Fifth is Radio One’s urban WCDX (5.5-5.3 and another 5.3). The “second five” – Radio One’s gospel “Praise” WPZZ (5.4-5.8-4.9). Entercom’s top 40 “Q94” WRVQ (4.2-3.9-4.4). News/talk WRVA (Entercom, 4.5-4.4-3.8). Hot AC “Play” WURV (Summit, 3.0-3.9-3.7). And Summit’s classic rock WKLR (4.0-3.5-3.1). At year-end, Alpha announced the sale of its last two Richmond FMs to Commonwealth Public Broadcasting – this is the farewell book for classic country “Hank” WWLB (2.1-2.7-2.1) and classic hits WBBT (1.5-1.6-1.2). Educational Media Foundation bought Alpha’s former country simulcast of WLFV/WARV-FM, and its not-for-profit CCM “K-Love” posts a 1.1 share on those signals.....

Stacie Seifrit-Griffin To WINC - 11/22 - DCRTV hears that Stacie Seifrit-Griffin is now driving weekend shifts at Winchester's hot adult contemporary WINC-FM, 92.5. She's a veteran of Annapolis eclectic rocker WRNR-FMm, 103.1, as well as top stations in Los Angeles and New York City.....

Zier To Oversee Entercom's Richmond Cluster - 11/7 - Bennett Zier, the longtime DC radio management veteran who was responsible for creating Redskins owner Dan Snyder's not-so-hot radio "empire," has recently been managing Entercom's radio cluster in Norfolk. Now, with Entercom merging with CBS Radio and acquiring iHeart's Richmond radio cluster, Zier will now be in charge of Entercom's combined Old Dominion operations.....

Entercom To Get Richmond's iHeart Stations - 11/1 - Entercom, which is merging with CBS Radio, will be taking over iHeart Radio's stations in Richmond, and, in exchange, Entercom will turn over its Boston stations to iHeart. The Richmond stations include WBTJ, WRNL, WRVA, WRVQ, WRXL, and WTVR-FM. The merger settlement with the Department Of Justice requires that Entercom divest five stations in Boston, four in San Francisco, and four in Sacramento. More at variety.com.....

Virginia-Pilot Makes Cuts - 10/24 - AP reports that the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk is offering buyouts to workers that could result in a nearly 10%reduction in the paper's workforce. Publisher Pat Richardson said 70 people qualify for the buyout, and the paper expects a reduction of less than 10% from its current workforce of 543.....

John Fredericks Joins DC's Answer - 10/10 - Virginia-based conservative talker John Fredericks adds DC's WWRC, 1260, The Answer, to his line-up of regional stations. The show airs from 8 AM to 10 AM on the Salem station. Fredericks' show runs live 6 AM to 10 AM on weekdays on his other affiliate network radio stations and streaming outlets. Including WHKT, 1650 and 92.5 in the Norfolk area, WNTW, 820 and 97.7, in Richmond, and WBRG, 1050 and 105.1, in Lynchburg, Danville, and Franklin. Stream the show at johnfredericksradio.com.....

Norfolk's 96.5 Similcasts WTAR - 9/15 - Sinclair Communications has pulled the plug on low-power soft oldies Vintage 96.5 in he Norfolk suburb of Poquoson after just two and a half months. The signal, which dropped its active rock 96.5 Rocks identity on June 26, has now flipped to a simulcast of sports talker WTAR, 850. More at radioinsight.com.....

New Sked For WTAR - 9/13 - Sinclair Communications sports talker WTAR, 850, in Norfolk is resetting its lineup on September 18. Nick Bailey, who currently hosts mornings will move to afternoons from 3-5pm. Bailey will be joined by Jason Dick and Tim Murray. Clay Travis will now air in mornings, while Rich Eisen moves from 6 PM to a 5 PM start. More at radioinsight.com.....

Alpha To Sell Fredericksburg Cluster? - 9/13 - Tony Bennett is out as the morning host at Alpha Media's contemporary 99.3 The Vibe, WVBE, in Fredericksburg. He's being replaced with an unspecified syndicated show, Tom Taylor Now reports. "Some other cost-cutting at the Fredericksburg cluster may warm up speculation that Alpha would sell Fredericksburg... With Greenville-New Bern, Myrtle Beach, and Savannah-Hilton Head sold to Dick Broadcasting. Portland, Oregon-based Alpha doesn't have much left in the Southeast," speculates TTN.....

UVA Ends WHAN Lease - 8/18 -
Radio Insight tells us that University of Virginia's 91.1 WTJU in Charlottesville has opted out of its lease deal with Fifth Estate Broadcasting's 1430 WHAN/102.9 in Ashland. The lease, which began in February 2015, was set to run until February 2018 and included an option for UVA to purchase the station. The station has now flipped to a locally programmed community-based alt rock branded as "The Mator." Radio Insight adds that WTJU programmed WHAN/W275BQ in an attempt to reach nearby Richmond, but the station was 20 miles north of the city and barely reached its intended market. The station also carried programming from the Richmond based Virginia Commonwealth University's WVCW.org at night.....

New GM For WSLS - 8/10 - Channel 10/WSLS, the NBC affiliate in Roanoke has named a new vice president and general manager. Jaimie León began working with Graham Media Group, WSLS's parent company, in 2006 as a business manager for WPLG-TV in Miami.....

Medical Leave For WVEC Weatherman - 8/8 - Channel 13/WVEC chief meteorologist Jeff Lawson says a medical issue will pull him off the air in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk market for a significant amount of time. "To make a long story short: I will be having part of my tongue removed. The recovery time is significant, and correcting speech issues may take even longer depending on how much is removed," he said in a Facebook post. More from TVSpy.....

WGH Picks Up Oldies - 7/31 - Oldies from the 1950s and 1960s replace gospel on Max Media’s WGH, 1310, in Norfolk. Along with vintage content from the station's heyday as a "top 40" station from the mid-1950s through the 1970s.....

WVKL Tops Norfolk - 7/18 - From Tom Taylor Now: Norfolk still sees only 13 subscribing stations, with operators such as Sinclair Telecable and Max Media not buying the book. #1 with double digits across all dayparts is Entercom urban AC WVKL (12.5-11.8-12.0). #2 again with a third straight 7.3-share is iHeart’s urban WOWI. Third again is Saga’s rock WNOR (6.2-7.0-6.8). “Rumble in the Morning” is second and “FM 99” ties for second in middays. Fifth place is Saga’s classic rock “Fox” WAFX (5.3-5.5-5.9). The Fox is fourth from 10am to 7pm, and tied in fourth place after 7pm. Ninth is Entercom’s AC “2WD” WWDE (5.3-5.1-4.3). It’s the cume leader in Tidewater at 396,900.....